Everett fights to keep base

While rumors are circulating that the Pentagon will close Naval Station Everett in 2005, a task force of local officials and groups are working to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Every military base in the country will be examined during the next 15 months, presuming the government goes forward with its planned base realignment and closure process beginning in March.

On the home front, a task force headed by the city of Everett is compiling information and preparing to answer questions about why the base should continue operating.

“I’m very satisfied what we said we were going to do we’re doing, and we’re doing it well,” said Pat McClain, Everett’s governmental affairs director, who is coordinating the effort with Snohomish County, the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce and other organizations.

On Tuesday, he reacted to the latest round of rumors that the Navy is seriously considering abandoning Naval Station Everett, saying there’s nothing to them.

“It’s the year of the rumor,” McClain said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., a Lake Stevens resident and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, also said there’s no indication the Navy is about to abandon its newest and most modern home port. However, he and the local community are taking no chances.

Larsen said, “2004 will be a year of rumor control when it comes to the base closure and realignment process.”

He said he can spend his time wringing his hands, but he’d rather “spend our time communicating to the Pentagon and the public the value Naval Station Everett plays in our national security.”

Larsen said the process is only in its beginning stages, and it’s much too early to talk about what bases might get the ax.

Communities that host bases – including Everett and Oak Harbor where Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is located – are girding for the upcoming fight.

While local communities are listing reasons to keep bases, the military is gathering data, which will be submitted to the Pentagon. Under the current plan, the Department of Defense will make its closure recommendations to the commission May 15.

The president will appoint the commission, which will hold hearings and make its recommendations to the president by September 2005.

“We have always acknowledged that Everett is as exposed to this process as anyone in the country,” McClain said.

Meanwhile, the local task force and others are developing information about the economic value of the naval station in the community. And, McClain said, community groups are gearing to demonstrate their support of the Navy.

Among other things, a delegation of about a dozen people will attend the commissioning of the newest Arleigh Burke destroyer – the USS Momsen – in Florida on Aug. 28. They also are preparing a big welcome for the Momsen, which will become the sixth ship stationed in Everett.

Keeping Everett makes sense nowadays, Larsen said.

“In an age of terrorism where terrorists look for the big bang for the buck, it is wise to disperse our ships rather than line them up side by side in fewer ports,” Larsen said. “I believe Naval Station Everett stacks up very well against the criteria that the Pentagon laid out and will use to evaluate installations.”

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.

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